The use of aircraft in agrichemical spraying is well known. The aircraft or "crop dusters" utilized in applying pesticidal, herbicidal or fertilizing agents to crops are usually small single engine propeller driven airplanes or helicopters which are equipped with "bird cages" or spray booms comprised of pipes provided with spaced spray nozzles along their lengths. The spray booms are attached to and carried on the exterior surfaces of the wings or fuselage of the aircraft, usually until the aircraft literally falls apart from the corrosion caused by the chemicals applied by the crop duster. Crop dusters have a relatively short flying range and are normally used to spray crops located near the airfield at which each particular airplane is based.
The substantial number of ocean-going tankers which transport petroleum from the Middle East and other oil producing countries to the United States has increased the likelihood of large oil spills which occur when such vessels are damaged, run aground, or sink at sea. Since the damages, and consequently the liability, which result when large oil spills float ashore can be extensive, a substantial amount of research has been performed on methods for controlling and dispersing oil spills. In one proposed method, an oil spill is surrounded with a collar which floats on the ocean surface and prevents the oil spill from breaking into a number of discrete smaller segments. While the collar is in place, a surface ship vacuums oil from the surface of the ocean. This process has several distinct disadvantages. During inclement or windy weather the collar will not effectively contain the surface oil and the procedure for vacuuming oil from the surface of the water is expensive and time consuming. Further, after the oil is removed from the water, it must be transported to a processing site for reclamation and storage.
Another proposed method which has been considered for controlling and dissipating oil spills comprises applying a chemical to the oil spill which causes the oil to disassociate into small droplets which readily disperse over the surface of and are absorbed by the ocean. This type of procedure is desirable because once the dispersant chemicals are applied, auxiliary equipment is not required to remove and transport the oil to another location for reclamation and storage. However, conventional spray planes do not have the range or load-carrying capacity to make the application of dispersant chemicals over large areas of ocean feasible. Similarly, converting a large cargo airplane into a spray plane by attaching conventional spray booms to the wings or external fuselage of the aircraft is not desirable because of the cost and time entailed in properly outfitting the plane and because the cargo plane would only be required for spraying during relatively short periods of time. Once a spraying mission was completed at least part of the spraying equipment would probably have to be dismantled and removed from the aircraft in order to once again be able to utilize the plane to haul cargo. In particular, if the spray booms and nozzles were not removed from the wings and fuselage, the increased aerodynamic drag caused by the booms would measurably reduce the range of the plane.
Another problem associated with aerial spraying is that droplets of dispersant chemicals dispensed by an aircraft can be carried far away from the area of the oil slick by ocean winds which may arise or exist at any time during a spraying operation.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide auxiliary spraying boom apparatus which could be used to equip existing transport planes for aerial spraying without having to structurally modify the aircraft.
It would also be highly desirable to provide aerial spraying boom apparatus which could be readily installed in a variety of existing cargo planes and could be adjusted during flight to compensate for changes in wind and other weather conditions.
Therefore, it is the principal object of the invention to provide improved aerial spraying boom apparatus for dispensing dispersant chemicals on ocean oil spills.
Another object of the present invention is to provide improved aerial spraying boom apparatus which can be installed in the hold of an existing cargo plane without having to structurally modify the aircraft.
A further object of the invention is to provide improved aerial spraying boom apparatus which permits a transport plane to be modified for aerial spraying while airborne.
Still another object of the invention is to provide improved aerial spraying boom apparatus which can be easily and conveniently transferred from one aircraft to another.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide improved aerial spraying boom apparatus in which the size of fluid droplets dispensed by the apparatus can be varied while the aircraft is airborne in order to compensate for changes in wind and weather conditions to ensure that spray droplets dispensed by the apparatus contact oil floating on the ocean's surface.